Wednesday’s opening Test against the West Indies will feature a new opening combination for India.
Wednesday’s opening Test against the West Indies will feature a new opening partnership for India. On Tuesday, India’s skipper Rohit Sharma declared that promising youngster Shubman Gill would bat third in the lineup. Shubman has started 16 tests for India, during which time he has been a huge success. The left-right opening combination was also announced by Sharma. In addition, the XI will feature two spinners.
It appears that two spinners and three seamers will be used on the Dominican wicket. Shubman Gill’s batting position is the third spot. His desire to bat third was communicated to coach Rahul Dravid. That he has spent his whole career at No. 3 or No. 4,” Rohit Sharma said during a press conference.
He also noted their relief at finally having an opening pair consisting of a left and right-hander. For Indian cricket, this is a promising era. We believe we have found our star player and wish him further success. “We had been looking for a left-handed opener for a while,” Sharma added. It’s expected that India’s left-handed opener will be Yashasvi Jaiswal.
With the debut of Yashasvi Jaiswal, the Indian side will push the transition button in the two-Test series against a wounded West Indies team looking for a path to redemption.
Both the Indian team and the home side are facing difficulties. The hosts are looking to redeem themselves after being eliminated from the ODI World Cup qualifiers.
A spot in the Indian top order has opened up after Cheteshwar Pujara’s controversial departure, and the tremendously gifted Mumbai left-hander will be looking to live up to his ‘name’ and the promise he’s shown at the first-class level before being thrust into the spotlight.
Before facing South Africa in Rainbow Nation at the end of the year, young Jaiswal will get his first taste of a bowling attack featuring veterans Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, Alazarri Joseph, and Jason Holder.
India will have a much more difficult World Test Championship cycle than in the previous two iterations when they cruised to back-to-back finals behind a dominant pace bowling attack.
But without the injured Jasprit Bumrah, who may have trouble playing Test matches on a regular basis, and the skilled Mohammed Shami, who has been rested for this series, the Indian attack will undoubtedly miss the sting that has made the present team a world beater.
While Umesh Yadav, at 36, may have a hard time being recalled after recuperating from a hamstring injury, Ishant Sharma, the other member of the legendary quartet, will make his commentary debut in this series.
When compared to the West Indies pace attack, the five-man attack led by Mohammed Siraj (19 Tests) and assisted by Shardul Thakur (9 long-form games) looks quite inexperienced.
How well West Indies batsmen fare against the wiles and artistry of Ravichandran Ashwin (474 wickets) and Ravindra Jadeja (268 wickets) will be crucial once again.
It’s required that you pick four bowlers, but deciding between Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, and Navdeep Saini could be difficult.
Similarly, when both spinners are in play, Ishan Kishan is more likely to succeed in front of the wicket than Kona Bharath, but the former is already on borrowed time. Kishan’s talent and left-handedness make him impossible to bench until Rishabh Pant returns to the lineup.
There hasn’t been a Test match played at Windsor Park in the last six years, but the various Caribbean nations have been in fine form in this format recently.
India would be foolish to assume that the West Indies performance in World Cup qualifying matches would have any bearing on their play in the upcoming Test series.
Roach (261 wickets), a veteran of nearly 15 years in the game, and Gabriel (164 wickets), a potent new ball enforcer, are the two main bowlers in their pace attack. When it comes to cricket, Gabriel prefers the red ball.
The ‘Holy Trinity’ of the Indian batting order (captain Rohit Sharma, the peerless Virat Kohli, and comeback-man Ajinkya Rahane) will have their hands full against these two on the Caribbean pitches.
The three of them are up against distinct kinds of difficulties.
After the 50-over World Cup, Rohit will have a better idea of what lies ahead. To keep his place in the longer format after the World Cup, he must first win this two-match series and make a substantial impact with the bat.
